The moment Su Yi appeared, he instantly became the focal point of the hall.
Naturally, Gongsun Lin and Tantai Yunzhi following behind him also caught everyone’s eye.
Seeing Shang Shuyi and Ling Qingyu—two female cultivators possessing both striking beauty and extraordinary grace who had crossed paths with him in the secret realm—walking straight toward Su Yi, a barely discernible flicker of displeasure flashed through Gongsun Lin’s almond eyes.
She quietly reached out, pinching the soft flesh of Su Yi’s waist with just the right amount of force. Pouting slightly, she whispered, “Hmph, aren’t you quite the popular one?”
Pinched, the corner of Su Yi’s mouth twitched slightly, yet he still had to maintain a calm and breezy smile on his face as he whispered back, “Stop messing around...”
Standing slightly behind them, Tantai Yunzhi quietly took in the entire scene.
She saw Gongsun Lin pinching Su Yi, and saw that Su Yi showed no sign of rejecting it. Her slender fingers twitched involuntarily, and her feet shifted forward slightly.
Yet in the end, her slightly lifted toes quietly settled back down, leaving her to merely watch in silence.
By then, Ling Qingyu had already arrived before him, taking the initiative to speak.
“Young Manor Lord Su, our Ancient Sword Mountain stands at the pinnacle of the sword Dao among the four sects. Ten Thousand Swords Cliff harbors supreme sword intent, making it the most suitable place for sword cultivators to comprehend breakthroughs.”
“Within Divine Might Manor, sword cultivators make up the vast majority. For them, Ancient Sword Mountain is the best choice.” Her words were well-reasoned, directly elevating the invitation to the level of benefiting all sword-cultivating disciples of Divine Might Manor.
As soon as her words fell, Shang Shuyi beside her gently shook her head. With her characteristic gentle smile playing on her lips, she chimed in, “Isn’t that statement somewhat biased? While Divine Might Manor certainly has many sword cultivators, its spell cultivator lineage is by no means weak. Have their numbers ever lagged behind the sword cultivators? And when it comes to the depth of spell research and inheritance, our Return to Origin Sect considers itself second to none.”
As she spoke, her gaze rippled with charm as she looked toward Su Yi with an enchanting smile, her expressive eyes blinking gently. “What do you think, Young Manor Lord Su? If I recall correctly, you seem to have rather unique insights into our Return to Origin Sect’s spells.”
Her words were clearly hinting at Su Yi’s extraordinary understanding and counter-abilities regarding Return to Origin spells back when he had forcefully barged through their sect’s mountain gates.
Back then, Su Yi’s figure had already left a deep impression in her heart, and Su Yi hadn’t finished exploring all of the Return to Origin Sect either.
Shang Shuyi believed that Su Yi was still curious about the Return to Origin Sect, and she just so happened to want to see him grace their sect once again.
However, her blatant demeanor carried an air of intimacy that made Gongsun Lin grit her teeth in silent vexation. Innumerable scenarios flashed through her mind, and the hand pinching the small of Su Yi’s back couldn’t help but exert a bit more force, twisting a full half-turn clockwise.
‘Bastard Senior Brother, as expected, I still have to keep an eye on you!’
And just as Shang Shuyi finished speaking and Gongsun Lin was silently administering her “torture,” a booming voice cut in:
“Young Manor Lord Su!”
Shi Yan strode over to Su Yi in great bounds and, recalling Ming Xi’s voice transmission, spoke in a muffled, booming tone:
“I don’t know how to say fancy words! But our Perching Phoenix Pavilion doesn’t have much else besides lots of spiritual materials! Lots of secret realms! And lots of spirit beasts!”
He tried hard to make his words sound appealing. “Senior Sister Ming Xi said that as long as you come, Young Manor Lord Su, she can make the call to gift you a spirit beast of extraordinary potential to serve as your spiritual pet!”
Feeling as if the stakes weren’t high enough, he hurriedly added, “And one more thing! She also said that back when you were at our Perching Phoenix Pavilion, you seemed very interested in several rare spiritual herbs. Senior Sister said she can prepare another complete set of those for you as well!”
“Ming Xi said that?”
Hearing this, Su Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze instinctively drifting past the people in front of him.
Sure enough, Murong Yue and Shang Shuqing were still exchanging pleasantries with Ouyang Qing, while Ming Xi hadn’t joined the conversation at all. Her beautiful eyes were locked onto him without the slightest hesitation, filled with playfulness and scrutiny.
Caught by Su Yi, Ming Xi didn’t avert her gaze in the slightest. Instead, the corners of her lips curled into an even more radiant and captivating smile. She even lifted a slender, jade-like hand, spreading her fingers slightly, and gave a gentle wave in Su Yi’s direction.
Su Yi felt a slight chill run down his spine.
That girl Ming Xi was far too black-bellied. Moreover, among everyone present, she likely held the highest status!
Her mother was the current Pavilion Master of Perching Phoenix Pavilion, and her father was a Heavenly Phoenix that had already assumed human form!
Possessing such a heaven-defying bloodline inheritance allowed Ming Xi’s talent to tower over her generation, eclipsing even the standout of the Return to Origin Sect, Shang Shuqing. Excluding two cheaters like himself and Tantai Yunzhi, she was the undisputed number one among the younger generation here.
It was precisely because of this terrifying bloodline talent that Perching Phoenix Pavilion—a sect whose history and foundation were originally comparable to Divine Might Manor’s with nothing particularly outstanding—had produced a monstrous genius like Ming Xi.
And when Shi Yan’s words came out, especially the words “spiritual herbs,” they acted like the sharpest fishhook, instantly capturing Ouyang Qing’s undivided attention.
Ouyang Qing’s figure blurred. Before anyone could blink, he had vanished from beside Murong Yue and Shang Shuqing, reappearing right in front of Shi Yan the very next moment.
His eyes shone brightly as he seized Shi Yan’s arm, firing off questions like a cannon:
“Lots of spiritual herbs? How much is ‘lots’ exactly? Is the scale of your cultivated spirit herb gardens vast, or do your wild secret realms yield in abundance? What is the ratio between common auxiliary herbs and rare primary herbs? What about their rank? Are there any over a thousand years old? Is the growing environment modeled after ancient methods, or bolstered by profound formations? How are the medicinal properties and growth vigor? What preservation methods are used after harvesting...?”
This barrage of extremely technical, meticulous questions battered down, utterly bewildering Shi Yan.
Shi Yan’s mouth dropped wide open, his eyes bulging like copper bells. As someone dedicated purely to body tempering whose botanical knowledge was limited to “is it edible?” and “is it poisonous?”, how could he possibly answer any of this? He could only stammer, “Uh... ah... well...”
Off to the side, Qiu Ning covered her face with one hand, completely unable to bear watching.
She knew it would end up like this! Her father had rolled in piles of medicinal herbs since childhood, pouring his life’s blood into the Dao of alchemy. Even the majority of his impressive cultivation was said to have been literally “tested” out in his youth, having dared to stuff all manner of bizarre spiritual herbs and venomous grasses into his mouth just to ascertain their properties.
Worldly affairs and sect politicking, in his eyes, probably weren’t even as alluring as a peculiar-looking weed.
Just as Shi Yan was at his wit’s end, a woman’s voice laced with laziness and amusement chimed in at just the right moment.
“Since Elder Ouyang is so interested, why not personally lead your disciples to our Perching Phoenix Pavilion’s Medicinal Mountain secret realm to take a look?”
Ming Xi walked over with delicate lotus steps, her face bearing a perfectly measured blend of respect and warmth. “Seeing is believing. Hearing cannot compare to witnessing it firsthand. The myriad spiritual plants and exotic flora preserved within our pavilion certainly will not disappoint you, Elder.”
Standing nearby, Qiu Ning watched Ming Xi’s seemingly sincere, guileless smile, yet her expression only grew graver.
The kind of person she least wanted to deal with was someone like Ming Xi—meticulous in thought, and adept at exploiting every conceivable angle.
Moreover... after that experience with Su Yi many years ago, she had long known that Ming Xi would never sit idly by without making a move.
To have gotten Su Yi back then to willingly help her stir up such a massive commotion, Ming Xi had to be extraordinarily skilled at seizing upon whatever a person craved the most.
Rate on N.U.
